Sona Lank

The mosque houses a strand from the Prophet’s beard and hence the name Hazrat Bal. The strand of the beard is displayed on special days. The mosque is located on the western bank of Lokut Dal, the northern portion of the Dal Lake. Visible from the mosque compound is the island of Sona Lank, with four chinar trees in the four corners. The white mosque is breathtakingly beautiful. Women may enter only the first part of the mosque. The adjoining area is a foodie's delight with several makeshift food shop selling deep-fried snacks.

Dal Lake is one of the prime attractions of Srinagar. At the very centre of the city, the lake covers an area of 21 km², which includes 3 km² of wetland. The lake has a circumference of 15.5 km. The lake is best explored on a shikara, a beautifully decorated boat that features in the logo of Jammu & Kashmir Tourism. Apart from open waters the lake also consists of floating markets, locally called rad. They basically constitute of matted vegetation and earth, but are floating. These are detached from the bottom of the lake and drawn to a suitable place and anchored. With nutrients from both land and water, these floating islands are used for cultivating tomatoes, cucumbers and melons. The area is a complex maze of floating cultivation patches separated by narrow water channels. The shikara negotiates through this complex maze with the skipper making his way through the complex maze of land and water. Floating market is another interesting area of the market. The market operates on floating shops approachable only by boat. They sell anything from artifacts including Kashmiri carpets. The shops doubles up as the artifacts workshop and provide the tourist with an insight into carpet making. The lake also accounts for floating hawkers opearting from boats selling anything from Kashmiri shawl to wood work and from saffron to the magical stone of Silajit. The Dal Lake, fed by natural springs, actually consists of four lakes namely Gagribal (southern part), Lokut Dal (northern part), Bod Dal (central part) and Nagin. Nagin, the smallest and the most beautiful of the four, is often considered as a distinct lake on its own.

Shalimar, literally means abode of love, is a Mughal garden located on the northeast corner of Dal lake. It was built by Mughal Emperor Jahangir, for his wife Nur Jahan, in 1619. During Jahangir's reign, Srinagar served as the summer capital of the Mughal empire and Shilimar Bagh served as the Mughal court. Like Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh follows the elongated plan with a dimension of 587 m by 251 m. The three-stage garden covers an area of 12.4 hectares (31 acres) and is centred around a central water channel. The lowest terrace contains the Diwan-e-Aam (public audience hall). The Diwan-e-Khas (the Hall of Private Audience) is located in the second terrace. The third and the uppermost terrace is topped with a central Zenna (Harem) pavilion, whose entrance is flanked with two smaller pavilion. The garden has paved pathways lined with chinar trees. The water channels consist of fountains and pools. The garden provides a grand bird eye view of the Dal Lake and the surroundings.

Located on the eastern banks of Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as its backdrop, the garden was designed in 1633 by Asaf Khan, brother of Nur Jehan. Literally meaning the 'garden of bliss' it commands a magnificent view of the lake and the snow-capped Pir Panjal mountain range which stands far away to the west of the valley. Although a Mughal garden, it plans were altered because of the hilly terrain. It has an elongated plan (instead of a square plan of Mughal garden) of 548 m X 338 m and is centred around a water channel, measuring 4 m wide and 20 cm deep. The channel flows in the east to west direction and is decorated with fountains and occasionally fountain pools. The garden consists of 12 terraces, representing the 12 signs of the zodiac. However, it has only two sections, namely the public garden and the private garden for the Zanana or harem. The terraces are lined along the central channel and consist of stoned paved pathways and short flights of stairs. The pathways are lined with chinar trees.

Unlike the other three parts of Dal Lake the Nagin Lake is a separate lake connected to the Dal Lake by a narrow water channel. It is located on the western side of the Dal Lake and at the foot of Hari Parbat. It also has its share of floating vegetable gardens and house boats.